770.00/173
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Bulgaria ( Shoemaker )
Sir: The Department has received your despatches Nos. 17 and 21 of April 29 and May 3, 1930, respectively,1 setting forth the views of Mr. Sydney Waterlow, the British Minister in Sofia, regarding Bulgaria’s relations with neighboring Balkan States and the steps which in his opinion are necessary in order to bring about a diplomatic adjustment of Bulgaria’s troubles and a solution of the problem of Balkan peace. The Department has noted Mr. Waterlow’s proposal “to have all questions of dispute between Balkan countries referred to France, Italy, Great Britain and the United States for friendly settlement but that this can only be achieved by the Balkan countries having the fullest confidence in the disinterestedness of the motives of the more powerful nations.” Mr. Waterlow has accordingly expressed the hope that you would be ready to be called upon at any time to use your friendly influence “to uphold the sincerity” of the intentions of himself and of his French and Italian colleagues in any representations that they may make to the Bulgarian Government.
In reply to your request for an expression of the Department’s views as to the proper course to be followed in case you receive an invitation from your British colleague to participate in the “friendly advice” which he and his other colleagues may decide to give to the Bulgarian Government, the Department desires that you scrupulously refrain from associating yourself with your colleagues in making representations or giving advice of any kind to the Bulgarian Government regarding its domestic affairs or relations with European States unless you have been specifically authorized to do so by the Department.
[Page 487]By the foregoing the Department does not intend that you should refrain from giving free expression on any appropriate occasion to this country’s profound interest in the development of a better understanding among nations and in the maintenance of world peace by all appropriate means. Bearing this in mind, you will of course keep the Department promptly and fully informed, if necessary by telegraph, of any situation affecting Bulgaria of sufficient gravity to warrant, in the opinion of your colleagues, representations on their part to the Bulgarian Government. The Department will in such cases instruct you as to the action, if any, which it desires you to take.
I am [etc.]
- Neither printed.↩